//------------------------------//
// Exile: Meeting the Wastelanders 
// Story: Jak and Daxter: Children of Eco 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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It took Jak and Pinkie some time to tell their story to Damas, but because there was so much for them to cover, and they knew that they didn't have the time to give him all of the details, they told him the highlights of their adventures and told him about the ordeals they had overcome. Damas seemed excited to hear the tales that his son had to tell him, which made sense considering that he had missed out on watching him grow into the man that was resting before him, while at the same time Pinkie noticed that it was extremely hard to read the King's face. She could only guess that he was excited, as it appeared that all of his time in the desert had hardened him into a fierce warrior king, but it was better than having no idea what expressions the King was feeling.

When they finally reached the end of their tale, however, Damas seemed to take the news about Jak's banishment from Haven City pretty well, even if he wanted to head back into the city and smack Veger with his staff... which made both Jak and Pinkie like him even more.

"Normally I would not believe such an outlandish tale," Damas finally said, allowing the two of them to take a break from all the talking they had done, while at the same time glancing over to Daxter and Raven for a few seconds, as he was curious about the two of them, "but when I consider all of the Precursor myths, and truly think about what you have told me, I have decided that you are not lying to me. It seems that I truly owe my thanks to the Precursors, for they have allowed me to reunite with my son."

"It's good to have finally found you as well," Jak replied, though at the same time he glanced around the chamber again as he stretched his arms, because he was anxious to get started on building both his and Pinkie's reputation within Spargus, "So... I guess the first thing we have to do is start training for whatever the Arena has in store for us?"

"Normally that would be the case," Damas stated, though the small smirk on his face told him that they weren't going to cheat the system and skip training, even if Jak was his son and Pinkie was his sister, "and we shall follow the customs of training before the big Arena fight... though we already know that training is the last thing either of you need at the moment. Once you have completed your training we will lower you into the Arena once more, where you will fight the enemies we throw at you until you are the last two standing."

Pinkie, who had been listening the majority of the end part of their tale, knew that the people of Spargus would likely see Daxter and Raven as talking animals that didn't fight, and they were apparently going to keep it that way. As long as she and Jak did well in the Arena, and didn't get killed by someone while their backs were turned, the two ottsels would be perfectly safe from harm, though at the same time she knew that Raven could protect himself if the need arose. Damas had seemed unconvinced when they mentioned that Raven was a Neo Metal Head, one of the new branch that had recent revealed itself, and could transform at will... though the reason he hadn't done so in the chamber was because there wasn't enough room for him to truly change shape.

"What about Raven and I?" Daxter asked, though at the same time he made some moves with his fists, as if trying to convince Damas that he and Raven were fighters as well.

"Right now most of my city would see the two of you as animals that would soon be added to the food stores," Damas replied, though a few seconds later he let out a very short chuckle, which meant that he had thought of something interesting that he might actually share with them, "but if either of you were to prove yourselves in the Arena... well, you might just change their minds about you. Or you could fall back on what your instincts tell you and take the safe road... which is just you sitting on Jak's shoulder for the majority of his adventures."

"Oh trust me, I'm going to fight back," Raven said, to which he held up his right hand for a moment and let the claws come out for a few seconds, though at the same time he grinned, which told everyone that he was already excited about the possibility of fighting someone.

Daxter looked at his friends for a moment, because he knew that Jak and Pinkie alone could easily secure their safety in Spargus without him having to risk his life, but when he considered that four of them would be entering the Arena, however, he came to a startling conclusion. He may not have much experience in fighting enemies like Jak and Pinkie, or tearing them apart like Raven did, but this time around he was going to have to pull his own weight and help the team. Generally that meant that he would enter a pipe and move something so Jak and Pinkie could move on, but this time he knew that it meant something completely different... something that went against everything he stood for.

"Alright, I have come to a decision," Daxter said, even if he hated himself for even saying what was about to come out of his mouth, but at the same time he knew that it was about time he stopped being such a coward, "I will fight like everyone else... even if that means that I might die in the process."

"Don't worry Daxter, I'm sure that our opponents will be aiming for either Pinkie or myself," Jak commented, causing the ottsel to turn towards him for a second, as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, before turning back to his father, "So when do we start our training?"

"Right now." Damas said, to which he beckoned for them to follow him as he took them down an elevator that brought them to the streets of Spargus, before marching them to a door that was their ticket into the Arena.

From there Jak and Pinkie were marched onto a floating platform that seemed to be connected to a box that Damas would sit from, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to look at their surroundings. It appeared that the area that the Arena had been built into was some sort of mountain area, though the actual fighting stage seemed to be made out of some sort of metal that resisted being destroyed by the lava below them. The moment they were in place, and the spectators were cheering for the event to begin, Damas walked out of the area behind the stone throne and took his seat... though he was followed by Pecker, who sat on one of the arm parts of the throne and looked down at the group.

A few seconds later Damas tapped Pecker, which had to be the signal for him to start the opening speech, as Pecker seemed to smile as he opened his mouth.

"Hail all citizens of Spargus!" Pecker called out, to which both he and Damas waved to the people for a few seconds, before he got serious once more, "Welcome to the Arena of Death, where we get to watch other people wet themselves in fear! These halls will once again test four newcomers, each fighting to prove their worth to stay among us! Let's hear it for Jak, Daxter, Pinkie Pie, and Raven!"

Damas and Pecker could hear some of the people laughing at the idea that Daxter and Raven could be proud warriors, considering that they were animals in the eyes of the exiles, but one glare from Damas was enough to stop the laughter... to which he nodded to Pecker.

"Let the games begin!" Pecker announced, to which Jak and Pinkie walked onto a platform and lowered themselves down into the obstacle course that was waiting for them.

Jak and Pinkie found that, thanks to all of the training they had done in the past, the obstacle course didn't really provide much in the way of a challenge, as they were able to follow the glowing spheres that were floating above the course with ease. Whenever they reached a certain point Pecker would use their communicator to tell them which moves they needed to know, as part of the training, before they used that particular skill and moved closer to the end. Damas had also brought in a countdown to see if they could do the course quickly, to which they proved that they had what it took to best his trials by beating the course before the time limit finished counting down... to which they were allowed to ride a square pillar back up to the area in front of Damas' sitting area.

Damas wasn't impressed by their 'measly' jumps, which Jak and Pinkie had been expecting the entire time, to which he pulled out two Morph Guns and tossed them down to the duo... though as they both realized that they were back to using only the Scatter Mod Damas called for the Arena to be prepared for full combat.

Jak and Pinkie were then lowered back into the Arena, which was now a square fighting stage with four towers that enemies would no doubt be coming through, but they positioned themselves so they could watch for any enemies. Daxter and Raven jumped up onto one of the nearby metal boxes and waited for their targets to arrive, though Raven was more excited than Daxter was. When the first opponent showed himself Jak spun around and kicked him int the chest, before leveling his new gun with his opponent's body and blasting him into the lava, where he disappeared without a trace. Pinkie, on the other hand, decided to disarm her opponent first, causing him to drop the weapon he was carrying, before blasting him away as well... though she did collect the spiked sword that her foe dropped, as well as the one that Jak's opponent had dropped before falling into the lava.

Jak was sure that she was salvaging items for them to use later on, especially if Daxter would be fighting with them in the future, though when he thought about his friend he noticed that Daxter and Raven were climbing on the backs of some of their opponents and using the spikes on their armor to hurt them.

As the group started to take down a larger amount of enemies, however, Jak noticed that some of them happened to be carrying something that had Dark Eco on their bodies, as some of their opponents dropped the Eco onto the ground, which was then either absorbed into Jak's body or Pinkie's body. Once Jak and Pinkie had dropped their fifteenth enemy, and more were coming, Jak could feel the Dark Eco inside him flare to life for a moment, forcing him to shift into his Dark Form... to which he slammed his fist into one of their remaining opponents and sent him flying into the lava. He glanced over at Pinkie and found her clutching her head with her hands at the moment... though as one of their enemies came at her she swung her hand and sent him flying into the lava as well.

Jak, despite the haze that came with the Dark Eco transformation, could tell what was happening to his sister, as her hair shifted back to its blood red coloration and when she looked at him he could see the markings on her face that resembled trails of blood, which went from her eyes to her chin... meaning that Pinkamena was back in town.

"Ah, it feels good to stretch my legs again," Pinkamena commented, though at the same time she spun around and kicked one of their remaining enemies in the chest, cracking his ribs before she tossed him off the arena, before she glanced down at the Morph Gun that was sitting in front of her, "Now, let's see what I can do with this gun."

Jak watched as Dark Eco surrounded the Morph Gun for a few seconds, to which Pinkamena broke it apart and allowed it to surge into her Dark Eco Crystal bracelet, where a red metallic bead appeared on the bracelet. One of the remaining three enemies charged at her, to which Pinkamena dodged the attack and thrust her hand forward, to which a scatter shot erupted from the palm of her hand and blasted the foe back into the lava. The Dark version of his sister than did the same motions to another foe, without the scatter shot happening, but she had punched the foe and sent him into the lava. Jak took it upon himself to charge at the last enemy and kicked him off the arena, allowing him to succumb to the lava... while at the same time a platform rose out of the lava, indicating that they had cleared the challenge.

Jak and Pinkamena jumped onto the platform, with Daxter and Raven riding on their shoulders, and rode it to the platform they had been standing on earlier... though when they touched the platform Jak reverted back to his normal state and noticed that Pinkie had done so as well, but he could also tell that someone was staring at them and had moved before he could find them.

"Is there something that you're not telling us?" Damas asked, though he had slipped completely back into his role as the leader of Spargus, as neither Jak or Pinkie could hear anything they had heard earlier.

"They both have been touched by Dark Eco, my liege." Pecker said, once again falling into the role as Damas' advisor, which he seemed to be grateful for, as he wasn't a fighter and they guessed that the King valued his 'wisdom' or 'talents'.

"Our friends get all mean and nasty when you piss them off," Daxter spoke up, to which he gestured to both Jak and Pinkie for a moment, while at the same time he was a little shocked to find that Pinkamena had come out for the briefest of moments, "so don't piss them off!"

"Ah, then they are dangerous, and that could be useful." Damas commented, to which Pecker nodded to his statement, indicating that they had to be acting for the crowd at the moment, before he gestured to the table in front of the group, "Your bravery has earned you your first battle amulet. If you are victorious in two more arena fights, you will earn your citizenship to Spargus."

Jak looked down at the amulet fragment that rested in front of them, though at the same time he made no move to collect it, because there was something else next to it and he wanted his father to finish his statement before he grabbed everything in front of him.

"Here is a Gate Pass to allow free passage in and out of the city." Damas continued, holding up the item in question and showing it to the audience, so they knew that he was holding it and not something else, before tossing it into Jak's hand, "But beware, there is no true refuge outside our walls; the desert is less kind than I. And for your victory, a gun mod is your prize."

"Oh yeah, now we're talking!" Daxter said, to which both Jak and Pinkie picked up one of the mods that were resting on the table, before Pinkie's changed into a cluster of Yellow Eco and became a yellow metallic bead that rested near the red bead, "Okay, I have absolutely no idea how you are doing that, but at least your Morph Gun and its mods are safe this time around."

Pinkie had to guess that since Pinkamena had channeled the Morph Gun into the Dark Eco bracelet, and had changed the Scatter Mod into the red bead, her innate powers had done the same thing to the Blaster Mod she and Jak had just picked up. A few seconds later Damas departed from the Arena with Pecker following after him, to which Jak and Pinkie took that as the sign that they were dismissed, as the other Wastelanders appeared to be heading back out to resume their duties. They jumped over to the entrance they had used to enter the Arena and walked back into the hallway, though this time they found a large man, due to the fat on his belly, leaning against the wall on their right... though they suspected that he was someone of importance under the King.

"Those were some sweet moves in the arena." the man commented, though at the same time he smirked at them as he turned to face them, "But a little more choke and you would have popped, eh?"

"Trust me, neither of us showed what we were actually capable of," Jak replied, knowing that if Pinkamena had actually taken over for more than a few moments the Wastelanders would have been shocked, though that wasn't taking his own powers into account.

"That I highly doubt." the man said, though his tone suggested that he might not have actually watched the fight, because it sounded like he didn't know what they had done to their opponents, "You two are from the big smoke, eh?"

"Who's asking?" Pinkie asked, because the last thing she wanted was for the man to think that she and Jak owed him anything, when it was Damas they owed their survival to.

"The guy who runs this place, that's who." the man angrily declared, as if he actually believed that he had more of a role in taking care of the city than Damas did, "Kleiver's the name, and I'm the Quartermaster for Spargus. You blokes stick with me, and I'll take care of you... in fact, I've got a job for you right now. Ride me leaper lizard here and catch a few of those little buggers that have been raiding me store  rooms. Snag me six of them puppies, and I'll let you drive one of me racing vehicles. That is, if Damas ever lets you leave the city."

"We can handle that." Jak commented, to which he noticed only one leaper lizard, which seemed to walk like the Flut Flut bird he and Pinkie had saved all those years ago, waiting near the opening of the building they were in.

As Jak rode the leaper lizard out of the Arena building he had to smile, because fortune seemed to favor them as he found another one for Pinkie to ride on, though once she was ready they jumped out into the city and started hunting for the creatures that Kleiver wanted them to take care off... though at the same time they knew that this was going to be the start of another grand adventure.